McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1980

Cette these pose l'hypothese de la particularite du groupe des camionneurs de longue-distance (truckeurs) tant sur le plan des realites sous-culturelles que sur celui des discours ideologiques. Le travail de terrain s'est effectue dans le nord-ouest quebecois, c'est-a-dire en Abitibi et a la Baie James. Appliquant le concept de culture la ou l'on aurait tendance a avoir recours au concept du groupe de travail (occupationnel), s'appuyant sur la notion d'ideologie des truckeurs la ou l'on parlerait normalement d'ideologie de classe, l'argumentation demontre que le groupe d'identite en question est un groupe sous-culturel de plein droit, existant dans un territoire abstrait: …  Lire la suite

This study deals with the undertaking cif formal evalu­ation research by organizations concerned with the delivery of personal social services. Using the literature on evalua­tion research, issues are examined which have been defined as potentially problematic in conducting evaluative endeavors. A personal social services agency's decision to engage in formal evaluation has political as well as programmatic impli­cations which create a need for careful planning and preparatory activities to promote organizational acceptance and cooperation in evaluation. To this end, a format which encompasses both an approach and a conceptualization of self-administered evaluation research is presented. The advocated format incorporates the …  Lire la suite

A procedure is described for the accurate determination of mercury in fibrous marsh peat. Two dosages of a mercury containing sewage sludge were added bimonthly for 4 and 7 years, respectively, to duplicate experimental salt marsh plots; and spacial patterns of mercury concentrations, soil organic matter contents, and specific densities were determined. Mercury was retained in the soil of the upper intertidal zone; but was lost (half-life 4 years) from marsh soils adjacent to tidal creeks due to export and dilution processes, rather than chemical or biological transformations. Marsh plants and organisms did not respond to mercury enrichments of the …  Lire la suite

Malowany, A. S.  Lire la suite

Gordon, Dr. J.  Lire la suite

Spraggs, L. D. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Lam, Professor C. S.  Lire la suite

The mechanism of action of erythropoietin (EPO) and the effects of different cyclic nucleotides on hemoglobin synthesis have been studied using a serum-free system of fetal calf liver cells. dbcAMP, dbcGMP and cCMP stimulated hemoglobin synthesis at different concentrations, and their effects were quite different depending on the type of hemoglobin being synthesized. The analysis of (alpha) and (gamma) chains by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) indicated that both the (alpha) and (gamma) globin chains are stimulated by the three cyclic nucleotides. Furthermore, Step III sheep plasma EPO stimulated the synthesis of cGMP in fetal calf liver cells. On the …  Lire la suite

This research investigated the effects of different doses of lithium on rats' behavior in an attempt to understand lithium's therapeutic mechanism of action in major affective disorders. Although high doses (1.50 mEq/kg LiCl) decreased rats' open field activity, low doses (0.15 mEq/kg LiCl) increased activity, which is a new finding. A study of the effects of these two doses on reaction to environmental complexity and novelty suggested that, irrespective of dose, lithium increases readiness to engage in inspective exploration of a novel environment and promotes longer inspective exploration of a known complex environment. This was interpreted as increased selective attention …  Lire la suite

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze my piece for orchestra and chorus, Apokalypsis, which was written in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Music in Composition. An attempt will be made to present a complete analysis of the pitch and rhythmic structures, as well as important orchestration procedures, and to formulate a method of analyzing music that integrates elements of-both "fUnctional" and "non-functional" tonality.  Lire la suite

The specific activity of the ('32)P labeled sediment-P taken up by submersed macrophytes was shown to be identical to the specific activity of the sediment mobile P, as measured by isotopic dilution. The mobile P therefore represents the sediment-P available to aquatic macrophytes. The ability to accurately measure the specific activity of the available sediment-P was applied to problems pertaining to the role of macrophytes in P cycling. The relative contribution of water and sediments in supplying P to macrophytes was measured by growing macrophytes in situ, rooted in ('32)P labeled sediments, and with the shoot in free contact with …  Lire la suite

Butler, Dr. Ian S.  Lire la suite

The behavior of bimodal suspensions of oblate spheroids undergoing simple shearing flow has been described by analyzing the frequency spectra of orientation-dependent macroscopic properties. In particular, the frequency spectra of rheo-optical transients in turbidity and angular light scattering obtained experimentally from mono- and bimodal suspensions of human and frog erythrocytes showed peaks corresponding to the dominant frequencies of the particles in the flow. The method can, in principle, be applied to multimodal dispersions to obtain information on particle geometry. The effect of high polydispersity on the rheo-optical transients of sheared suspensions have been studied. The time-dependent behavior of such systems …  Lire la suite

Iton, Professors lrving Brecher, John (Supervisors)  Lire la suite

A specially-designed plasma chamber was constructed to study the operating characteristics of a dc plasma transferred arc struck between a fluid convective cathode and a water-cooled anode. The plasmagen gas consisted of pure argon and arc lengths as high as 7 cm were studied. The arc voltage increased markedly with arc length and with an increase in the inlet velocity of the argon flow past the cathode tip, and much less with an increase in current. The effect of the gas velocity was minor at low velocities (1 to 3 m/s) but became important at higher velocities (20 to 60 …  Lire la suite

The distribution of acetylcholine receptors in the myotomes of Xenopus laevis was investigated during development by using a-bungarotoxin labelled with tetramethylrhodamine or 125r. The presence of nerve fibres was determined after staining with nitroblue tetrazolium. The results show that acetylcholine receptors are widespread along the muscle cells when the nerve fibres first arrive. Their density increases progressively for about a day and then gradually declines after the embryo hatches. High receptor densities develop at the presumptive synaptic sites about 1-5 hr after the onset of innervation. When segments of developing spinal cord are removed during early stages there is a …  Lire la suite

This study investigated the effects of an experimenter-designed cross-cultural training program on counsellor empathic response, attending behaviour and level of anxiety during interviews with a culturally dissimilar client. A review of the literature indicates that counsellor effectiveness and level of anxiety may be affected when a client is perceived as culturally dissimilar. Research documenting the success of cross-cultural training as a method of increasing counsellor effectiveness during live client interviews is meager. Thirty-one white graduate students in counselling participated in this research. Counsellor trainees were randomly assigned to treatment/no-treatment conditions. Following the 11-hour treatment program, all 31 counsellors conducted videotaped …  Lire la suite

Hogan, Professor James J.  Lire la suite

Attempts were made to explore the possibility of haploid plant production in oats (Avena sativa L.) through in vitro techniques. For anther culture, among 89 entries, only four cultivars, namely, Cayuse, Manod, Stout and Tarpan, produced calluses. Serial sections of the callusing anthers revealed the pollen origin of these calluses. Genotypic differences in anther response in oats were confirmed. Aborted multicellular structures were observed in the pollen sacs of 12 cultivars/strains. Further improvement of the medium is necessary to ensure the continual development of initiated pollen grains to plantlet formation. Cultivar differences in the frequency of non-stained (NS) grains were …  Lire la suite

This thesis seeks to contribute to the theoretical and empirical debate surrounding five key issues in the demand for money. These issues are identified as: stability, functional form, causality, dynamics and competing theories. Each is examined through the application of current econometric methods to Canadian data. In addition to providing information about Canadian money demand, efforts are made to assess the practical nature of the econometric techniques employed. Contributions include: an assessment of relative sensitivity of various stability tests; a discussion of stability of monetary aggregates wherein a demand shift in the current account component of narrow money in the …  Lire la suite

Work on developing an instrumental system for total analysis of triglycerides and phospholipids is presented. Initial chromatographic analysis using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography on C(,6)-bonded, 5 (mu)m silica stationary phase and acetonitrile-water (and dilute phosphoric acid with phospholipids) mobile phase is demonstrated. The Kovats index is shown to allow correlation of structure to retention behavior. An ultraviolet absorbance detector ((lamda)(,195m,)) and novel post-column reaction detector (p.c.r.) based on saponification, periodate oxidation and derivatization using a new class of reagents are used for detection. The p.c.r. is shown to be sensitive to samples in the lower nanomole-per-injection range. A novel …  Lire la suite

A new approach to the analysis of the structural properties of multivariable convolutional codes over finite fields is presented. It is based on the properties of the state transition graph which can be considered as a generalization to the multivariable case of the classical Good-De-Bruijn graph associated with linear shift register sequences. The concept of a minimal graph is introduced and shown to be isomorphic to the class of all minimal encoders previously defined by Forney. Straightforward algorithms based on simple algebraic and graph manipulations are introduced to allow for the reduction of any state transition graph to a minimal …  Lire la suite